Readers fire back regarding regulation claims

I had to respond to the commentary piece claiming that "thousands" of new regulations under Obama have crippled the economy. According to a study by Bloomberg News: "Obama's White House approved 613 federal rules during the first 33 months of his term, 4.7 percent fewer than the 643 cleared by President George W. Bush's administration in the same time frame, according to an Office of Management and Budget statistical database reviewed by Bloomberg. ... The average annual cost to businesses under Obama is higher. ... The increase is estimated to total ... at most 0.03 percent of the total economy." The article also reported: "... according to a World Bank report released Oct. 19, of 183 countries surveyed, the U.S. ranks behind just Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand in the ease of doing business." Of course, Bloomberg is not Fox News, and the World Bank is not the Heritage Foundation. Oh, and of course the Republican House of Representatives had no responsibility for the lack of a fiscal policy that might actually create jobs instead of making the rich even richer.Dan Margulis, Marshall###

Before the 2008 Republican convention, a video circulated on YouTube in which virtually every national Republican politician, John McCain included, said the biggest problem facing this country was too much regulation. Within 10 days of the close of that convention, Lehman Brothers failed, the banking system began to implode, and these comments abruptly stopped. Flash forward five years, and we find Jim Mueller opining in the AC-T that thousands of new regulations during the Obama administration have hindered employment. While he doesn't cite even one by name, description or effect, consider the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted in response to irresponsible risk practices on Wall Street. Is this a regulation that is strangling the country? Anyone out there want to roll back Dodd-Frank and try another round of unregulated 2008-style derivatives trading? Probably not. Mueller also cannot resist touting the thoroughly discredited Republican mantra that lower taxes lead to increased employment. For a fun exercise, Google "do lower taxes create jobs." The result will be a list of articles in mainstream publications such as Forbes and Time answering the question with a resounding "no." Lower taxes, less regulation. Tired old Republican ideas that don't work.Pat Sadler, Flat Rock

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Readers fire back regarding regulation claims

I had to respond to the commentary piece claiming that 'thousands' of new regulations under Obama have crippled the economy. According to a study by Bloomberg News: 'Obama's White House approved 613